教宗在梵蒂冈接见维拉诺瓦与圣母大学篮球队：约7000人到场，体育让人们相聚
教宗良十四世10月31日在梵蒂冈保禄六世接见厅会见美国维拉诺瓦大学与圣母大学的篮球队员、学生与球迷，约7000人到场。两校男篮与女篮11月1日将在意大利罗马举行双赛，为美国大学篮球新赛季揭幕。
这组赛事名为「永恒之城开球」（Eternal City Tip-Off），在罗马可容纳约1.1万人的体育宫（Palazzo dello Sport）举行，男篮比赛于美东时间11月1日上午9时30分开赛，女篮比赛于中午开赛；比赛日恰逢天主教的重要节日诸圣节。这一赛事的创办，正是为向首位美国籍教宗致意。
良十四世是维拉诺瓦大学校友，1977年在该校取得数学理学学士学位；他出生于芝加哥、也在芝加哥南区长大，距离圣母大学所在的印第安纳州不远。接见中他先以两校之争开玩笑说：「在芝加哥南区长大的时候，我们常听人喊『爱尔兰队加油！』但大家都知道，普雷沃斯特是维拉诺瓦毕业的。」他接着说：「所以教宗不选边。普雷沃斯特另有看法，但现在就不说了。」现场随即响起欢呼与笑声。普雷沃斯特是教宗当选前的本名。
转入正题后，教宗说，在一个被技术拉开距离的时代，体育能把人们带到一起，能教给人们合作与彼此分享的价值，而这正是当下越来越需要的。当天上午，到场的球迷先在圣伯多禄大殿参加了一台特别弥撒；两校各有四名学生运动员向教宗献上纪念篮球与球衣等礼物。
据梵蒂冈新闻报道，这次接见是两校罗马之行的组成部分：两所天主教大学希望以这场在罗马举行的揭幕战，庆祝两校共同的使命与传统。
来源：GSM·美国
Pope Leo Meets Villanova and Notre Dame Basketball Teams at the Vatican: Sports Bring People Together
Pope Leo XIV met basketball players, students and fans from Villanova University and the University of Notre Dame in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican on October 31, with about 7,000 people in attendance. The two universities' men's and women's teams will play a doubleheader in Rome, Italy, on November 1 to open the U.S. college basketball season.
The event, dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off, will be played at Rome's Palazzo dello Sport, an arena seating about 11,000, with the men's game tipping off at 9:30 a.m. ET on November 1 and the women's game at noon; game day coincides with All Saints' Day, a major Catholic feast. The event was created to honor the first American pope.
Leo is a Villanova alumnus, having graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics, and he was born and raised on Chicago's South Side, not far from Notre Dame's home state of Indiana. Joking about the rivalry, he told the crowd: "Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, we oftentimes heard, 'Go Irish!' But as you all know, Prevost graduated from Villanova." He added: "So the pope doesn't take sides. Prevost has another opinion, but we won't do that now," drawing cheers and laughter. Prevost is the pope's name before his election.
Turning serious, the pope said that in an age marked by the distance created by technology, sports can bring people together and teach the values of cooperation and mutual sharing, which are increasingly necessary. Earlier that morning, the traveling fans had attended a special Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, and four student-athletes from each school presented the pope with gifts including commemorative basketballs and jerseys.
According to Vatican News, the audience formed part of the two schools' Rome trip: the two Catholic universities hope the season opener in Rome will celebrate their shared mission and heritage.
Source: GSM, America
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：教宗良十四世2026年3月在梵蒂冈接见来宾（资料图）。爱沙尼亚外交部摄，CC BY 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / Pope Leo XIV receives a visitor at the Vatican in March 2026 (file photo). Photo by the Estonian Foreign Ministry, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
